Wearable technology is starting to become the new biggest thing to hit the market these days. Devices like Bluetooth headsets have been around for quite a while, but making its way onto the scene more recently are gadgets like smart watches and smart glasses. Although not quite mainstream just yet, these two devices are picking up speed in popularity as more manufacturers jump on board with the ideas and try to make them as appealing as possible to consumers. I have high hopes for the future of smartwatches, but up until recently I haven't had the same feeling for smart glasses. Recently, I've been reconsidering my stance on the concept.
I'll be frank with you, this change of heart probably isn't coming from anything revolutionary about them - they're certainly marvous wonders of technology, but I still have my reservations about them. Just the thought of some of the ways people could use them kind of creeps me out, but at the same time, the exact same thing could be said about similar devices. There are going to be people in the world that use these gadgets for... not good, and that's just the facts. That's just how the world is. It's no use fearing them because while that might be true, these devices can also be used for a lot of good as well. A lot more good than I was initially willing to think outside the box to find.
I think I'm looking at it in a more "Innocent until proven guilty" light right now. Before I was very harshly against it, but the more I see new plans emerge for smart glasses, the more I'm realizing that this is probably going to be a pretty big thing here in a couple of years. I could be wrong, but if this many companies are willing to develop smart glasses then I have no doubt in my mind that as long as they're functional and set at a decent price, they will eventually be a key part of society. You know what they say, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
I also think that my recent experience regarding the Moto X might have been a little bit of an eye-opener to me. My first impressions upon hearing about the Moto X were anything but positive, because the "Always On" sensors just sounded like an unsettling feature in the beginning. But after receiving a device of my own for review, I realized that those always on sensors were actually pretty cool. If your hands are tied up doing other things and you can't reach your phone, it's a non-issue; all you have to do is prompt the phone with "OK, Google Now" and the phone can pick up your prompt from a pretty decent distance away. You also don't ever have to push the power button to see the time or notifications, which seems petty and even gimmicky - and it might be - but it also was a feature that I missed once I returned back to my HTC One. Who would have thought that pushing a power button would be such a chore? Okay, not really, but still. It really was a strangely nice feature to have.
So now with devices like Google Glass, and reports of other devices like "Sports Glasses" possibly coming from Samsung and even loose rumors regarding LG joining in on the eyewear fun, I feel like perhaps I should give the devices a second look. Initially I wasn't even considering picking up a pair for myself, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that as long as the price is right ($1500 is a little too high for me at this point) I probably will pick up a pair for myself at some point. I always seem to have my hands full around here, whether it's dealing with a toddler, a dog, work, or whathaveyou, I could probably use a device like smart glasses to help with productivity. I noticed lately that I have a huge problem pausing whatever I'm doing to pick up my phone to check it. At least with smart glasses, I can still use my hands to do whatever it was I was working on while looking up information such as a recipe, a symptom, etc.
It seems like it's only fair to give this new technology a fair shot before completely shooting it down. I was a little hasty in how quickly I shot down smart glasses before, but now I'm starting to see the benefit of having such a gadget in my life, and how they could impact society in a positive way. Smart glasses just might not be such a bad invention after all.
Readers, do you think you would like a pair of smart glasses in your life? Why or why not? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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